update, question, photo

Status Report

Monday (Day 1), Jameson went through 15 pairs of underwear. (Yes, I was doing laundry all day!) I went to bed wondering why I thought this would work.

Tuesday, he went through 6 pairs. (!) Four of those were killed in the line of duty, so to speak (didn’t run fast enough, got them stuck in his haste to get them off, etc), so really, only 2 accidents. (!!) Best of all, he went all day on his own initiative!!! I guess he actually did learn something on Day 1!

Wednesday, only 2 pairs. Granted, we also ran out of juice boxes (the “cool” and novel drink I’d purchased for the Big Training Day), so he didn’t drink as much. Still, only 2 accidents — and going on his own initiative.

Cutest thing: To see him in the middle of something, suddenly stop, eyes get huge, drop his toys, and run for the potty.

Question

How do you go from training — you know, when the potty chair is outside, 5 feet from where he’s playing — to real life? Are pull-ups just essential? ‘Cause I’m cheap, you know, and I’d rather skip them.

Cute Picture

12 Comments update, question, photo

  1. brietta

    #1: Holy COW!!! That’s a lot of underwear. I will officially never complain about my thus-far experiences potty training again.

    #2: I always started with the potty chair in the bathroom just so that the right associations would come together. I guess I just tried to remember back to when I was potty training, and I have a distinct memory of running from the family room to the little bathroom off the dining room. I figured, Hey! it worked for Mom, so that’s what I’ll do. (Granted, in the townhouse our only bathroom was upstairs, so I actually put the potty in the kitchen for the week so that Gabriel wouldn’t have to go THAT far every time he needed to go!) Anyway, I think it actually is good to start working toward “reality” right away so that you get the right patterns/instincts happening. ie I have to potty so I run to the bathroom, etc.

    #3: don’t buy pull-ups. I never have and I don’t regret it. I honestly think pull-ups are the biggest cause of potty training regression. (Of course, I say this with no firsthand experience, but it SEEMS to me…) I always started potty training on a Monday (which it seems like you did, right?) and by Sunday, when we go to church and have our first outing, they’ve either got it or they don’t. If they do, the biggest hurdle is teaching them to use a potty that’s not THEIRS, but honestly my experience has been that kids who are afraid of “new” toilets (Bronwyn and Jackson) will just hold it for the entirety of the church service. Seriously. If a kid doesn’t get a whole lot to drink, you will be AMAZED by their bladders! And on the other hand, if in 6 days they haven’t caught on, we’ve shelved potty training for another time and day anyway.

    #4: wicked cute picture! He SO does your tongue thing!

    Reply
  2. sarah o.

    I think the first venture out after potty training is so scary! But, what’s the worst that can happen? I carried around a change of clothes for her for quite a while. I still to this day have Kate use the bathroom at home before we go anywhere, just to make having to go when we are out less of a probability. And she has to go before naptime too.

    I am impressed with your numbers! Kate pretty much quit diapers cold turkey, so I didn’t have this sort of experience. We’ll see what happens with James.

    I never bought pull-ups. Way too much money. And I think it might be sort of confusing. You can just bring the potty chair around with you! Having one in the car can be a real life-saver.

    Reply
  3. Danica

    @Bri:

    #1: It definitely took him all day Monday to figure things out. And by figure things out, I’m including learning how to not soak his underwear in the process of using the potty. :) I went to bed feeling ready to quit, but lo and behold, the next morning, he went unprompted!

    #2: I did keep the potty in the bathroom the first two days. Yesterday I made an “outdoor” day, and then felt bad when he went running through the house to get to the potty, and ended up leaving a trail of puddles. :) But today, he (of his own initiative, without me even ever suggesting such a thing) bypassed the potty chair outside, got his little step, and sat himself down on the toilet. Not afraid of falling in, I guess! Anyway, I guess he’s made the right associations. And I guess there’s no point in having the potty chair outside.

    #3. Glad to hear it.

    Reply
  4. Lynsay

    YAY! That’s GREAT!

    I kept the potty in the kitchen until Ali could open doors…but that was the only reason I didn’t keep it in the bathroom…needed to keep the door closed from other little hands…Now she can open doors AND go on the big potty!

    Pull-ups. I bought 1 Costco sized box and still have MANY left over. I use them if I think we will be in the car for a while….just so I don’t have to wash the car seat. She also still has to wear diapers for naps and night-time….She is still wet a lot…can Jameson go thru the night or naptime dry yet??

    Reply
  5. Lynsay

    p.s. Ali uses the pull ups pretty much just like underwear, tho…she doesn’t have accidents in them (unless it’s been a LOOOONG time).

    Reply
  6. Carina

    Well, I don’t know ANYTHING about potty-training, but I would have to say that if he can go from 15 accidents to only 2 in three days, that is pretty much impressive!

    Way to go Danica and Jameson! The Team-Work is working!

    Reply
  7. jmdunphey

    wow 15 pairs, I think that must have been some constant running or way too much drinking. Day 2 sounds very normal and day 3 sounds like a huge success. Oh my goodness though 15. Sounds like a great effort and a wonderful success. I knew you could. See you in a month. nana nene

    Reply
  8. Randi

    Ok but what do you do when the child is potty training age and can go on the potty but WILL NOT tell you himself that he has to go and you have to always ask and remind and he still has accidents???? I AM FRUSTRATED!! Should we wait a little longer so that he’ll understand that he can tell us he has to go? It’s like he doesn’t get it! HELP! :)

    Reply
  9. Abby

    It sound like Jameson is doing really well with potty training! I must admit that after that first day I would have not had high hopes for him getting it. You are very optimistic to keep trying anyway!

    As far as the transition, just move the potty to the bathroom if it’s a reasonable distance for him to get there. One of the hardest things for my two trained kiddos was the transition from Mommy making gentle reminders to Mommy leaving going potty up to them. Of course, everyone still goes potty before we go out. I just HATE using public restrooms when I can avoid it! Everyone also goes potty before naps and bed. They haven’t been wetting the bed, but they DO wake up at 2 am to go to the bathroom if I forget to have them go. I like to sleep, so they get reminded to go!

    As far as pull-ups, I did purchase a package for each child while they were training. I would put them in a pull up when we went out for the first two weeks or so. Most of the time they would be dry. I would still ask them if they had to go if we were out long enough that I expected they would need to go. The pull ups were more for my sanity. If there was an accident, it was just too much to tote all three kids to a bathroom or the van to clean up. I also had to clean a carseat after a #2 accident once. That was just nasty.

    I also keep them in pull ups at night for the first few weeks. Of course, they are usually dry and they usually re-use the same one several nights in a row. I prefer to not change wet sheets too often, so this was just easier for the days that they had too much to drink before bed, which was my fault anyway!

    Those are my thoughts. Of course, I’ve only potty trained two! It sounds like you are doing a great job. Give that big boy a big hug!

    Reply
  10. Iva @ Horizontal Yo-Yo

    I kept the potty chair behind the couch with DD. That way it was close enough to her play area but not right out there for all to see.

    For my boy, I kept the potty in the bathroom (he was my first).

    The girl was harder to train than the boy, but the girl had less accidents. Go figure.

    Never used pullups. Of course, I don’t even know if they had pullups…that was 11 years ago…

    Reply
  11. Dottie

    @Randi…….The key to your problem is one simple word, “He!” That’s a boy for you! Much more stubborn than girls! ;o) They can be soooo smart and totally understand but sometimes they (and some boys) just don’t care!! I’ve heard it from many, many other mothers of boys!! Take heed. He will get it and will finally do it but the key words for a boy are…..”in his time!!” :o)

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Danica Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.